Family Gathering
by Sensaiman
Summary: Summary: This is a new piece in the cycle I started with "Mystery of the Silent Writer". It takes place eight months after Kate has "settled into" the Castle family.


Family Gathering

A Castle Fanfiction

By

Sensaiman

_Summary: This is a new piece in the cycle I started with "Mystery of the Silent Writer". It takes place eight months after Kate has "settled into" the Castle family._

_Disclaimer: __Castle__ belongs to Andre Marlowe and A.B.C._

Kate Beckett, Detective, sat on the porch at Lainie's Gram Tee's house and reminisced. The last eight months had been, too say the least, amazing. Who knew that a life could change so completely so quickly? Just think of it, on the Thursday before Memorial Day, she had been alone. No boyfriend, no children, nothing. And wham, less than a week later she had it all; an adoring partner/lover [_Ruggedly handsome Mystery writer Richard Castle_], a loving surrogate daughter [_Beautiful red haired violin virtuoso Alexis Castle_], and an extremely fond substitute mother [_former leading lady of __Temptation Lane__ Martha Rodgers_].

After an incredible two months in the Hamptons and one unbelievably lonely night in her apartment when they returned, Kate had moved into the Castle loft, and into the Castle family, and now eight months later, although her name had not changed [_yet_], she was indisputably a Castle, and she was not the only Beckett to become part of the family either; her father had also been adopted into the Castle Clan. Grampa Jim, _[as Alexis had begun calling Kate's father three hours into Thanksgiving Day_], while not a permanent resident like Kate, had been given his own room at the Loft. From that first November night, the guest room down the hall from Alexis's room had become Grampa Jim's room, and now it was never referred to as anything else.

Kate's revere was broken by excited voices and laughter coming from the backyard. Since this was Easter Sunday, Lainie's innumerable nieces and nephews were engaged in a spirited Easter egg hunt, jointly supervised by Lainie's eldest niece Bianca, and Kate's "daughter" Alexis; and planned and executed by her wonderful "nine year old on a sugar rush" fiancé Richard Castle.

Fiancé: the word almost stopped her heart every time she thought of it, and of course thinking of the word made her think back on that unbelievably sweet Friday night two weeks ago when he had "popped the question".

Traditions were big with the Castles, big traditions like Thanksgiving Dinner, Christmas Day, Fourth of July in the Hamptons, and little traditions like the Saturday Girl's Day Out [_or as it was known at Villa de Castle G.D.O._] or the Sunday morning croissant feast [_where in the world had he learned how to make croissants from scratch?_], but of all of their traditions her second favorite [_almost neck and neck with G.D.O._] was their quiet Family Friday Nights. Because of their job, Kate and Rick were never sure of when or if they would get home, so most nights were kind of catch as catch can, if they were home, and Martha and Alexis were home, they would have a family dinner and maybe a game or movie night. If one or both of the other Castle Ladies were out, they would just bring take out, eat, and head upstairs to "read" [_heh, heh, heh_].

So it was, that on a Family Friday Night, two weeks ago, she had gone from Kate Beckett, Richard Castle's partner, to the future Mrs. Richard Castle. The evening had started out as most Friday evenings did, she, and Rick and Alexis, who for some reason had no date with Ashley that night _[well there was a reason, but Kate hadn't know what it was then_] made their favorite dinner; Chicken Alfredo, Cesar Salad, and homemade breadsticks [_really if he ever got tired of writing Rick could open a four star bakery_].

As they sat at the dining room table and ate, Lex had told them all about the up coming orchestra recital at school _[she was the soloist in Mozart's Violin Concerto number 1_], her plans with Ashley tomorrow night [_grimaces from Rick, eye rollings from Kate and Lex_], and how much she was looking forward to Easter at Gram Tee's house.

After dinner the three of them had moved to the couch, for their usual Friday night ritual on catching up with their favorite shows [_thank God for Tivo_].They had finished the one about the team of Naval Investigators, and were jusy queing up the one about the phony Psychic Detective, when Alexis's head fell on to Kate's shoulder. Almost automatically, Kate had begun to stroke her "daughter's" hair. As she sat there, her hand gently flowing through the soft red curtain, she had to smile; it never surprised her that people immediately recognized that she and Rick were a couple _[shoot, people had recognized that a year and half before that had actually become one_], what did surprse her was how people immediately recognized that she and Alexis were mother and daughter. Whenever she went to pick up Alexis at school or a friend's house it was never, "Hey Lexy, your dad's girlfriend is here", or "Hey, Lexy, Detetctive Beckett is here", it was always, "Hey, Lexy, your Mom's here".

"Kate, are you happy?", Rick's words interupted her revere.

"Yes, honey, I don't think I could be happier."

"Really? Maybe I can think of a way."

And before she knew it two things happened. One was that Alexis sat up straight, reached over to the coffee table in front of the couch, opened the ornate wooden casket that sat there, took out a small jewlery box, and handed it to her father. The other was that Rick had moved off the couch, took her left hand in his and gone down on one knee. Kate had almost stopped breathing when she saw them do these things.

"Katherine Elizabeth Beckett, I love you, I have loved you since the day we met, and I will love you till the day I die, I want to spend the rest of my life with you, will you marry me?" She was about to scream out a ecstatic "Yes", when Alexis spoke, "Katherine Elizabeth Beckett, in the three years I've known you, you have shown me what a mother is really supposed to be like. You have loved me, cared for me, disciplined me when I needed it, and always supported me. Will you please marry my dad, and become my Mom officially?"

And then the ecstatic "Yes, yes, yes" came out.

Now as Kate, sat on the porch at Gram Tee's house that beautiful April afternoon, she couldn't help smiling. It was one thing for a man to propose marriage, but quite another for his teenage daughter to propose motherhood. If she had ever had any doubts about becoming a permanent Castle, Alexis's words that night had taken them away forever.

It was just as she was thinking this, that Lainie's eldest niece, Bianca, found her on the porch.

"Aunt Kate", she said, 'the kids and I have a problem."

"Oh, what is it?"

"What should we call, Mr. Castle?"

"What do you mean?". asked Kate.

"Well, you're part of the family so we call you Aunt Kate, and so's your dad and we call him Uncle Jim, Gram Tees already calling Lexy "Princess" like she does me, but we don't know what to call Mr. Castle."

"Well why don't you call him Rick?"  
>"No ma'am, you know Gram Tee, she doesn't like us calling grown ups by their first name. It would be different if you and Mr. Castle were engaged or married, because then we would call him Uncle Rick".<p>

"But we are engaged sweetie, look", and she held her left hand out to Bianca.

Bianca looked at the hand and then back at Kate with a confused look on her face.

Kate looked at the ring finger of her left hand and panicked, the ring wasn't there. For one horrible moment she was afraid she had lost it. Then her hand reached up to the front of her blouse and there it was hanging next to its companion on the golden chain around her neck. Because she loved it so much, and because she knew how easily something could happen to it out in the field, she never wore the ring on her finger at work. She always wore it next to her Mom's ring on the golden chain. Usually she woud take it off the chain and put it on her finger Saturday morning and then put it back on the chain Monday morning. Of course whenever she and Rick went out at night, or to a social or family event she wore it proudly on her finger. She quickly reached up, pulled the chain out, opened the clasp and slipped her ring off, and slid it onto her finger.

"Oh wow", Bianca said, "That's the most beautiful ring I ever saw"

It really was. Kate had always feared, that when Rick bought her a ring it would be an ostentasious piece with a huge diamond, but this was the most tasteful and gorgeous thing she had ever central stone was not a diamond, instead it was a flawless emerald [_"Becuse it matches your eyes", Rick had said_], surrounded by eight tiny but equally flawless diamonds. Whenever she looked at, it took her breath away.

"Oh Aunt Kate, I'm so happy for you.", Bianca said getting up, "Oh and thanks for answering the question about Mr. Castle."

"Okay, hon, see you later"

After Bianca had run off, Kate tried to remember why she had forgotten to put her ring on yesterday; then, wth a sudden blush, she recalled exactly why she forgot, her beloved fiance had been so dazzingly and repeatedly "distracting" that she forgot everything for several hours. Kate was bathing in the joyous memories of those multiple "distractions" when the sounds of the Ester Egg hunt intruded on her consciousness. Suddenly a dozen young voices were crying out, "Uncle Rick I found five eggs, Uncle Rick I found the bunny, Uncle Rick can you tell us story, we love you Uncle Rick!"

"I love you to "Uncle Rick", Aunt Kate thought as she got off the porch and headed to the yard to rejoin her family.

_Fin_

_Just a piece of Caskett fluff. I think we're going to need all the Caskett we can get to get us to fall._

_As always please review._

_Love, _

_S_


End file.
